The best Jean Harlow’s documentary movies

Jean Harlow

Jean Harlow

03/03/1911- 07/06/1937
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Jean Harlow’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Jean Harlow.
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Complicated Women

Complicated Women
7.7/10
A look at actresses who starred in films with thought-provoking subjects made between 1930 and July 1934, before the Hollywood Production Code —the infamous Hays Code— was enforced.

That's Entertainment!

That's Entertainment!
7.8/10
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.

Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood

Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
7.4/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryHistory
  • Release: 03/03/2008
  • Character: Various Roles (archive footage)
A look at the forces that shaped Pre-Code Hollywood and brought about the strict enforcement of the Hays Code in 1934.

That's Entertainment! III

That's Entertainment! III
7.5/10
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.

James Stewart's Wonderful Life

James Stewart's Wonderful Life
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 22/11/1988
  • Character: (archive footage)
Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
7.8/10
Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival footage make up this star-studded voyeuristic look at the Golden age of Hollywood during the 30s, 40, and 50.

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II
7.3/10
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
7.1/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 06/08/1975
  • Character: (archive footage)
Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.

The Big Parade of Comedy

The Big Parade of Comedy
5.8/10
  • Genre: ComedyDocumentary
  • Release: 02/09/1964
  • Character: Ruby in 'Hold Your Man' (archive footage)
Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.

The Love Goddesses

The Love Goddesses
6.9/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 03/03/1965
  • Character: (archive footage)
This insightful documentary features some of the major and most beautiful actresses to grace the silver screen. It shows how the movie industry changed its depiction of sex and actresses' portrayal of sex from the silent movie era to the present. Classic scenes are shown from the silent movie 'True Heart Susie,' starring Lillian Gish, to 'Love Me Tonight' (1932), blending sex and sophistication, starring Jeanette MacDonald (pre-Nelson Eddy), and to Elizabeth Taylor in 'A Place in the Sun' (1951), plus much , much more.

Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
6.3/10
Before the G, PG and R ratings system there was the Production Code, and before that there was, well, nothing. This eye-opening documentary examines the rampant sexuality of early Hollywood through movie clips and reminiscences by stars of the era. Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich and others relate tales of the artistic freedom that led to the draconian Production Code, which governed content from 1934 to 1968. Diane Lane narrates.

The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful

The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful
6.7/10
A documentary reflecting on women in film and the entertainment industry through the ages led and hosted by some of its most beloved female icons.

Judy Garland: By Myself

Judy Garland: By Myself
8.5/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 25/02/2004
  • Character: Herself
As Hollywood biographies go, Judy Garland's story is one of the saddest success stories you'll ever hear. The sanitized studio version of her life presented a smiling kid with the big voice, who, alongside Mickey Rooney, just wanted to put on a show. But drugs, overwork, even psychological abuse at the hands of the studio is now part of the Garland legend. But despite the number of Garland books and documentaries, one account has always been missing -- Garland herself never managed to write a memoir. She did make several attempts at an autobiography, often recording stories on a tape recorder. Judy Garland: By Myself (2004), finally fills in the blanks - using Judy's personal recordings to tell the story in her own words.

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
7.8/10
In this tribute to her frequent co-star and longtime love, Katharine Hepburn hosts a behind-the-scenes look at Spencer Tracy's personal and professional life that features intimate personal accounts, interviews and clips from his most acclaimed work on the silver screen.

The Golden Age of Comedy

The Golden Age of Comedy
7.1/10
A compilation featuring comedic stars of the silent era including Will Rogers, Laurel and Hardy, and the Keystone Cops.

Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell

Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell
6.3/10
Actress Sharon Stone hosts this documentary about the life and career of 1930s sex symbol Jean Harlow. Included are clips from many of her films, photos and stories about her life before she became a movie star, and accounts of her troubled personal life, including a domineering mother, the failure of her three marriages and the suicide of her second husband.

Hollywood My Home Town

Hollywood My Home Town
7.6/10
Ken Murray narrates his 16mm home movies shot over 35 years in Hollywood.

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